Books & ideas

The people who count

Marion Pollaert — 2026-05-19T13:22:12Z

What is the nature of the distinctive rationality that underpins Cleisthenes' reform, which many see as the birth of Greek democracy? What social mechanisms, civic experiences, and forms of vernacular knowledge made this new system of political organization possible?

Newness: same old song?

Lucile Truffy — 2026-05-14T06:30:00Z

The love for newness did not begin with modern consumer society. It has long been capitalism's primary engine and has been central to how it imagines the market. At present, its environmental impact is disastrous.

The Correspondence of Sentiments

Vincent Boyer — 2026-05-12T09:14:20Z

Can morality be grounded in the sense of sympathy? According to Adam Smith, sympathy with the sentiments of others is precisely what allows for self-command, a cardinal virtue that enables us to act from a sense of duty.

The lesson of the Pandemic

Guido Alfani — 2026-05-11T07:11:00Z

An unparalleled demographic catastrophe, the Black Death disrupted the economic, social, and cultural balance of medieval Europe in the 14^th century. Long considered a major turning point, it now appears as an indicator of the structures, limitations, and resilience of medieval societies.

Terrorists Under the Radar

Christian Chevandier — 2026-05-07T06:30:00Z

Alongside its Paris branch, the French terrorist group Action Directe also operated a Lyon branch, responsible for dozens of attacks and robberies, and marked by a crude ideology and domestic abuse within the group. We look back at far-left violence in the post-1968 era.

Does Truth Have a History?

Thomas Boccon-Gibod — 2026-05-05T08:05:30Z

Is Foucault's genealogy concerned with the will to truth or with truth itself? According to Pascal Engel, in maintaining the ambiguity between the two, Foucault ignored the norms of knowledge as an essential source of emancipation.

The Origins of Environmental History

Kevin Bouillot — 2026-04-28T07:03:34Z

Our understanding of nature differs from that of the Greeks and Romans. From the “month of the ox” to “the forest goddess,” the ancients never thought to separate humans from the flora and fauna around them.

Arendt in Dark Times

Anne Schwarz — 2026-04-23T07:30:00Z

As 2025 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Hannah Arendt's death, a new book offers a fresh perspective on a little-known yet pivotal period in the philosopher's life and work.

Returning to Life

Laura Hobson Faure — 2026-04-21T06:30:00Z

A collective work traces the emotional and psychological journeys of Holocaust survivors in the immediate postwar period. It examines both the practices of caregivers and the strategies survivors employed to reintegrate into society.

An Anti-Totalitarian Publisher

Robin Freymond — 2026-04-16T07:30:00Z

Backed by Raymond Aron and Manès Sperber, the French publishing house Calmann-Lévy championed anti-communism and the fight against totalitarianism from the end of World War II.